Ender's Game

Compared to my previous two books, Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, felt quite fast and quick, but that doesn’t mean the story doesn’t develop just as well as the books I read last year, not at all!

The state of the world is not a good one, Humanity hasn’t really conquered the stars and flourished just yet, other than a few stations. Earth has been at war with the buggers, some insectoid alien race that had come in contact with the planet twice already. The first time it was just exploration, and Humanity managed to hold out. The second time, was colonization, and we almost lost. Thankfully, the genius strategist Mazer Rackham managed to stop them and became the hero of the story. We lived happily ever after.

But decades have passed since then, and a third invasion is on the horizon.

Now, kids are being monitored from birth, and those who show promise are drafted to become part of the army at a really young age, with the hopes of finding the next genius, who will command the fleet and protect the planet from the buggers.

Ender ends up drafted, and since he shows the most promise, he’s put into tremendous pressure by his superiors, making him go through quite a ton of hardships. Learning the tactics and strategy, by a series of games that put him and his army to the test. Zero G battles, Simulations, Games—as some might say.

The story really played with my feelings and morals quite a bit, no matter how cool and epic battles and victories were, things were just, wrong all the time, and yet, what else could be done? It really makes me think and feel uncomfortable, and it somehow remained hopeful, even if just a little.

The writing was great, the pacing felt alright, I couldn’t stay away from the book for long. It was a really intricate story where the protagonist has to sacrifice everything for the greater good—if there is any greater good at all. And the characters, the characters were amazing. Ender is such a complex character and the people that sorround him are really interesting too. The kids at school, his family, his superiors. Some of them only served for the story, sure, but they did so quite well.

Tragically, I had already watched the movie adaptation, and had an idea of the main plot and the finale. I was a little dissapointed by the fact that such a movie—which is pretty average—spoiled it for me. But I was still rather surprised by the twists and turns, as well as the points in the story that differ between the book and the film, or that aren’t even in it.

I am glad I gave it a read, highly recommended.

Revisited this with the Audible radio play. Made me remember how much I'd liked it.

I remember reading Ender's Game as a kid and loving most of it, but being put off by the weird dream sequency/ computer gamey bits. Coming to it as an adult, I see that while Ender's Game can be read by kids, there's a lot more in it for adults. Of course there's the moral question of using kids as soldiers - Kony 2012 anyone? - but what I most enjoyed was the finely balanced characterisations, particularly of Ender and Graff, Principle of the Battle School. Ender is a monster, but details of his actions are withheld from the reader to enable us to grow to know him and empathise with him before we realise just what he's done in the past. And Graff is another kind of monster - one that makes monsters - but again we empathise with him as doing what 'must be done' even if he personally despises himself for it. From a writing point of view it's a very skilled novel.

Overall a very fun read by Orson Scott Card. Creative imaginings about the future and some very relevant reflection on space colonisation without being obsessively dystopic (as is the case with some contemporary sci-fi). I'd recommend this book for anyone who enjoys sci-fi, or even for those who might be looking for an introduction to the genre.

Great young adult read. Good sci-fi. After reading a lot more of Card's novels, I think he's annoying. But a page-turner.